ELEVATED EVIDENCE REQUIREMENTS AND WORRY

Work conducted under the auspices of the Pennsylvania State University Worry Project suggests that worriers show retarded responding when attempting to categorise ambiguous figures. Recent research has yielded similar findings. These effects might be attributed to a characteristic elevated evidence requirement in high worriers. In the following, an experiment is reported which supports this notion. Further, a correlational analysis is reported which reveals a systematic association between evidence requirements and everyday worry frequency. A model of worry is suggested, in which elevated evidence requirements are given a central role. © 1991.